RESULTS

Arterial function variables significantly improved after 30 days of intervention;
FMD improved by 167.7% (P<0.001), PWV by 10.9% (P<0.05) and β-stiffness by 18.8% (P<0.01),
whereas no changes were obtained in the placebo group. The favourable outcomes in
the intervention group were accompanied by a significant decrease of high sensitivity-C
reactive protein levels (1.8-fold; P<0.05). In contrast, lipids and blood pressure
remained unchanged. Surprisingly, the beneficial arterial effects were still present
to a substantial degree 7 months after completing intervention (remaining % of initial
improvement: FMD 82.1%, PWV 69.5% and β-stiffness 68.5%), but declined substantially
after 10 months.

CONCLUSION

Our results indicate that age-related arterial changes, at least in middle-aged males,
can be reversed. Short-term treatment with a low-dose fluvastatin/valsartan combination
resulted in a large and long lasting improvement of arterial function.